


Love thy Neighbour

by ZieZie13



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Librarian Remus Lupin, M/M, Modern Era, Pre-Relationship, Remus Lupin Speaks French, Sirius Black Speaks French
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26186440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZieZie13/pseuds/ZieZie13
Summary: Just a short fluffy story of how Remus meets his new neighbour.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 89





	Love thy Neighbour

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lostdiadem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostdiadem/gifts).



> Me: I am going to go to bed early tonight because I am going to have a busy day tomorrow, and I have not been getting enough sleep.  
> Also Me: It is 1:00 AM in the morning and I have finished writing this fic and I have no regrets!

Remus stared down at the book in his hands, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. When you got down to it, he really didn’t have any option. That last hospital bill had been more than he had expected and there were very few things he owned worth that kind of money. The book in question was a rare first edition copy of  _ La Bête humaine  _ published in 1890. It was one of only 250 copies ever printed, and thus worth much more than any bills he had racked up. Remus had found the book a few years back. It had been tucked away behind a stack of several volumes of  _ The Cambridge Ancient History  _ at a used bookshop on Harmood Street. Remus smiled at the memory. He had been ecstatic at the find and more than a little smug that he had been able to identify it immediately. 

Now he was giving it up, or at least selling it although the price he had listed was nowhere near its true value. Walburga Black was getting the tomb for less than half what it was worth, but he needed the money now. He had listed the book for sale on a popular collector’s website yesterday after work. He had priced it to sell fast and sell fast it had. Within an hour of listing, Mrs Black had emailed Remus with an offer. Maybe he should have tried selling it for more but it was too late for that now.

He looked up at the clock on the wall, 7:11. During their correspondence last night, they had discovered that Walburga’s son happened to live in the same block of flats that Remus had just moved into with his flatmate Lily. Truly a strange coincidence, especially, seeing as the kind of flat that Remus could afford was not where he would have expected to find the kind of person who collected expensive French novels, or their son for that matter - he figured himself to be an outlier in this regard. But as unlikely as it was, Sirius Black did in fact share an address with one Remus Lupin and was supposed to stop by at 7:00 to pick up the tomb.

He was late. By proxy making Remus late. Remus glanced up at the clock again, 7:13. He was going to have to call it. He would let Walburga know her son could pick up the book later, after he got back from work. He was just getting ready to put the book away when he heard a knock at the door.  _ Oh, thank god. _

Remus jumped up from the couch and yanked open the front door. On the other side stood a dishevelled looking young man about Remus’ age. He wore a comfortable looking black t-shirt paired with some grey sweats, and where those pink bunny slippers? Silky black hair was wrangled into a lopsided bun at the top of his head. Sirius’ eyes were half-closed and he was in the middle of a big yawn. Remus tried not to judge him too harshly, it was hardly his fault he had a safety net large enough that he didn’t have an 8 to 5 to get to on a Tuesday morning.

Sirius’ eyes took in Remus’ appearance and he smiled. “What are the odds that the two of us are neighbours?”

“Hmmm, serendipitous to be sure.” Remus handed over the book eager to move this exchange along.

“Thanks! My mother said she would transfer you the money over lunch today.”

“Yes, let her know she can email me if she has any concerns over the book’s condition but there shouldn’t be an issue.”

Sirius glanced down at the book for the first time and began opening his mouth to indubitably make some small talk. Remus cut him off before he even began, “Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but I am running a little late.”

“Oh! Of course, yeah, sorry. I will let you get on with your day. I didn’t mean to make you late.” Remus stepped out and began locking the door. “I am just across the courtyard if you ever need to borrow a cup of sugar or something. Don’t be a stranger.” Remus gave him a nod and a smile before making off for the bus stop with the hope that he might still make it in time.

He did not. Remus arrived at the school just a few minutes before first bell. He apologized profusely to the students who had lined up outside of the library wanting to return some books before general assembly. After he had taken care of the morning rush, Remus finally found himself with some room to breathe. And without a ticking clock in the back of his mind, Remus found his thoughts wandering to a certain dark-haired neighbour. Sirius was actually quite fit now that Remus gave it some consideration. Even straight out of bed, Remus had to admit, Sirius looked good.  _ Shit, and I didn’t even know what unit he’s in. _ Remus thought to himself glumly.  _ Maybe I will get lucky and run into him in the laundry room soon. _

The rest of the workday flew by, though if Remus’ thoughts turned to one Sirius Black more than once you could hardly blame him.

✩ ☾ ✩

Remus was relaxing after work with a nice cup of Earl Grey basking in the felling of a full bank account, however brief that feeling may be. He could hear Lily in her room running her newly downloaded Sekiro multi-player mod. Before he could crack open the spine of his current book there was a knock at the door. He looked through the peephole and saw two girls who looked to be around his age. Maybe they had the wrong apartment, that had happened the other day. He opened the door.

“Hi. We are going around the complex and inviting everyone over to supper in Unit 110 if you would like to join.” 

“That’s really nice of you. What’s the occasion?”

“Nothing special, just a bunch of new people moved in recently so we are hoping to get to know the neighbours. I’m Marlene, by the way, and this is Dorcas.” The other girl waved her hand.

“Remus.”

“Nice to meet you, Remus. The food should be ready around 8:00 if you would like to join.”

“Thanks. I just might.”

Remus shut the door as the two girls walked over to the next flat. Normally Remus would not be inclined to spend the evening socializing with a group of strangers, but if he was being perfectly honest he hoped that he might, by some twist of fate, run into a particular neighbour at this fortuitous gathering. He looked at the clock on his phone - 7:52 - and shot Lily a quick text about the party not wanting to interrupt her game. 

Lily came into Remus’ room as he was freshening up. “A party? Really Remus?”

“You don’t want to go?”

“No, of course I do. I am just surprised you do as well.”

Remus shrugged, “Can’t a guy want to meet his neighbours.”

Lily gave him a suspicious glare, “Sure, but don’t you have a hot date with your book and a chocolate éclair.”

A frown. “Am I really that predictable? Don’t answer that. Today just feels like a good day to shake things up. Do I have to have more of a reason than that?”

“No, you don’t. Are you ready to go?”

✩ ☾ ✩

Turns out Unit 110 was the flat directly across from their own. Remus gave a knock. A moment passed, but there was no answer. Remus and Lily could hear the conversation inside drifting through the door. Remus took a chance and turned the knob. The door gave way and the two peaked inside. The layout was very similar to their own flat only reversed. Remus stopped scanning the room, however, when his amber eyes locked on to a pair of grey ones. 

Sirius Black sat at the dining table with his back against the wall. No longer was he dressed in pyjamas, but now wore an expensive-looking short sleeve button up that gave a generous view of his chest. Sirius’s eyes lit up and his smile widened as he registered Remus’ presence. Remus couldn’t help but preen a bit at that. 

“Remus! What are you doing here?” The conversation died down, as everyone’s gaze turned to him.

“I, well, Marline invited me.”

“I asked Marline and Dorcas to go around and invite the neighbours.” A voice from the kitchen spoke up. “They said one or two might actually show. How do you guys know each other?” The man attached to the voice rounded the corner into the dining area. He had a mess of thick black hair and a pair of round, wire glasses.

“Remus and I go way back,” Sirius responded with a wink.

Remus let out a huff, “Sure all the way back to 7:00 this morning.”

“7:15,” Sirius corrected, “I was late.”

“That you were.” Remus smiled.

“My mother had me pick up a book Remus was selling for her collection this morning,” Sirius explained to everyone. “It was just serendipity that the two of us happen to live right across from each other.”

Remus’ smile grew.

“Brilliant!” The bushy-haired man exclaimed. “Well, I’m James. You already meet Marlene and Dorcas.” The two girls smiled. “That there is Mary. Then you have Fabian and Gideon. Frank and his better half, Alice. Dearborn, and last but not least is Diggle. Where’s Benjy?”

One of the others spoke up, Gideon or was it Fabian, “He had to work late. He said he might drop by later though.”

“I’m Remus as you heard, and this is my flatmate Lily.”

James smiled, “Lily, the loveliest of flowers… Right then, you lot shove over and make room for Lily and Remus. And you Remus, you can tell us all about how you came to be in possession of a dusty old French novel.”

“Yes Remus, please do tell us all about how you acquired this book that brought you and Sirius’ together.” A glance at Lily let Remus know that he would not live down the omission of this morning’s encounter anytime soon.

“There is not much to tell really,” Remus said as he sat down. “It is kind of a hobby of mine. I go to old bookshops and scour through the shelves looking for a gem or two. Occasionally I even find one, although that edition of  _ La Bête humaine _ is definitely the most valuable piece I have found and a personal favourite. Mostly I pick up old pulp novels or the occasional romance.”

“Parlez-vous français?” Sirius leaned forward.

“Oui, mais je suis un peu hors de pratique.” Remus replied.

“Je pense que tu le parles magnifiquement.”

“Hey! English at the table. You two can get a room if you want to whisper sweet nothings at each other.” Remus blushed and Sirius smirked.

After that, the conversation split off into groups as James finished cooking supper. Remus wanted to continue talking with Sirius, but unfortunately, there were several people between the two, and noise levels were not optimal to have a conversation at that distance. Instead Remus and Lily began a conversation with Dearborn and Diggle, whose first names Remus learned were actually Caradoc and Dedalus. At some point, Marlene and Dorcas pulled up a couple of chairs and joined in. Remus was surprised to find he was enjoying himself despite not getting the quality time with Sirius that he craved. Remus often looked over at the black-haired beauty and each time he did Sirius was already meeting his gaze a soft smile on his face. 

Despite Marlene’s earlier promise, supper was served closer to nine. It was a delicious curry dish James had learned from his mother. Everyone got up to serve themselves, and Remus hoped the new seating arrangement would mean he would get a chair next to Sirius but alas it wasn’t meant to be. James did end up sitting next to Lily though and Remus learned that the flat belonged to James and Sirius along with a third flatmate, Peter, who apparently had made other plans when he learned how many people were coming over. Everyone else was old friends from uni, though they all seemed to live close by. It appeared that James and Sirius were the hub of this social circle and Remus expected to see everyone around the complex quite regularly. 

The evening flew by and while Remus never got to have a direct conversation with Sirius, he did manage to learn more about the raven-haired beauty like the fact that Sirius didn’t really get along well with the rest of his family or that he and James had known each other since they were eleven. He felt a little guilty to jumping to conclusions when he learned that the reason Sirius had shown up in his pyjamas that moring was not because he was unemployed, but rather that Sirius and James ran their own very successful venture capital firm which allowed them to work from home and keep flexible hours. Eventually Lily signalled to him that she was ready to go, and Remus gave her a nod in acknowledgement. He may not have got to talk one on one with Sirius that night, but he knew where he lived now and he would certainly take him up on that offer to borrow a cup of sugar sooner rather than later. The two got up to leave, but not without thanking their hosts first.

“Sirius,” Sirius turned immediately upon hearing his name fall from Remus’ lips, “We are going to head out now, but I hope to see you around.”

“Count on it.”

“Thanks for the food James, it was delicious really.”

“Anytime.”

And with that, Remus and Lily stepped outside into the cool night air.

✩ ☾ ✩

“Remus wait!” Remus was halfway across the courtyard that separated the two flats when he heard Sirius call out his name.

“I am going to go on ahead,” Lily said with a smile and Remus gave her a nod before turning his attention back to Sirius.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to hold you up. I know you have work in the morning. I just, well you are amazing and super cute and I don’t know if you noticed but I could keep my eyes off you all night. I guess I am asking if you would like to do this again sometime, dinner that is, only maybe next time it can be just the two of us.”

Remus smiled. “I would love to.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired to write this for @lostdiadem1 on Tumblr. We have been in quarantine mode for over five months now and it is really starting to drag, so I wanted to write something cute and fluffy. This story is more or less based on an encounter I had with my neighbour yesterday after posting a listing for an old wooden box I had made as a child. I asked my friend what kind of Wolfstar fic should I write, and she said Neighbors AU and I was like OF COURSE. So anyway I hope you liked it. The book Remus sells, in the beginning, is La Bête humaine or in English The Beast Within, which honestly is just perfect. It is the seventeenth book of Émile Zola’s twenty-part series Les Rougon-Macqua. The novels follow the lives of two fictional families during the Second French Empire. La Bête humaine itself is a psychological thriller full of “rape, murder, suicide, and pathological obsessions.” One bookseller characterizes it as doing “more for Zola’s bad reputation than all the other titles in the series put together.” Despite that, it was quite popular and spurred many an adaptation.


End file.
